Friday, December 11, 2015

Effective Budgeting

Many principals find the budgeting process to be confusing and overwhelming.  And it can be so if one is completely focused on the little things.

But if one is focused on the big things, budgeting becomes a manageable and useful tool.  So here are the big things to wrap your mind around.

1. Effective budgeting is not about incrementally starving programs. For example: cut Program A by 10%; cut Program B by 20%; cut Program C by 15%. 

Effective budgeting is about fully funding the programs that are critical to the organization accomplishing its mission, and not funding the programs that are not critical to the organization accomplishing its mission.  Which would look like this:  Program A and Program C are critical to the success of the organization, they receive full funding. Program B is not critical to the success of the organization, it gets no funding and is discontinued. 

Some may argue that this way of thinking is inappropriate in a school setting.  Those people would be wrong.  Then there are those would argue that this way of thinking is hard in a school setting. Those people would be right. But if leadership were easy, anyone could do it, and that is not the case.

2. Money represents time, tools, training and staff. The equation looks like this: $ = Time, Tools, Training, Staff

The job of the leader (and budgeter) is to find the optimal mix of time, tools, training and staff that maximizes student results for a given budget amount.

What I have found is that the campus that goes lean in staffing, invests heavily in training and modestly in tools is the most nimble in the short run and remains competitive in the long run.

The campus that is staff heavy and tool heavy (which is easier to get approved by central office) ends up skimping on training which makes for a lumbering school in the short-run that becomes decreasingly competitive in the long-run. 

So to tie this up, when working on your budget, don’t get enamored with head count and programs. Instead...

A. Have fewer people and train them better, continuously.

B. Quit doing the things that don’t make your campus better. Just do the things that do make your campus better.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Lose the Battle, Win the War

With 3-week checkpoints, if they are administered correctly, the assumption should be that performance will be lacking.  After all we are asking high rigor questions almost immediately after students have been first exposed to the content.  As long as the poor performance is not due to being off pace, everything else can (and generally will) be corrected over the course of the school year. 

There are of course ways to “cheat” at checkpoints.  Most prevalent are to review for the checkpoint, extend time on the checkpoint, or not count the questions that were missed due to pacing setbacks. This gives the illusion of success when the reality is not as rosy.

Our advice to schools is “Lose the Battle. Win the War.” The battle being the checkpoint, the war being the state accountability test.

When we don’t “cheat” the checkpoint, we are able to determine if we are on pace, what is working, and what is not. With this information, we problem solve and adjust, putting us in a better position to meet the requirements of the state accountability tests.

When we “cheat” the checkpoint, we believe that everything is working as it should.  We don’t adjust and then we are sandbagged by the state tests.  So play it honest. Lose the Battle, Win the War. And if you doubt the strategy, it worked for both Sam Houston and George Washington.

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
  • Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Monday, December 7, 2015

Top LYS Tweets From the Week of November 29, 2015

If you are not following @LYSNation on Twitter, then you missed the Top 10 LYS Tweets from the week of November 29, 2015 when they were first posted.  And if you are on Twitter, you might want to check out the Tweeters who made this week’s list.

1. As a leader, if you are not sitting at the table, then you are probably on the menu! (By @S_Snell)

2. A great lesson begins by planning how you will Frame the Lesson. (By @fosterbkay)

3. All things are difficult before they are easy. - Thomas Fuller (By @JReynaldHebert)

4. Intentional planning with an instructional framework is Vital to create an Exemplary School. (By @tra_hall)

5. Getting specific about exactly what needs to be achieved, even in the face of uncertainty, is one mark of a healthy organization. (By @DrKing_BBJH)

6. Why a lack of belonging matters: Mental resources are expended on monitoring the environment instead of on learning. (By @anniemurphypaul)

7. When kids feel they "belong" in their schools or colleges, they're more likely to engage, and succeed. – Thomas Toch (By @tra_hall)

8. “Education is the best economic policy available on the planet.” (By @DrRichAllen)

9. The worst danger of mediocre leaders is they bring out mediocrity in others. (By @Leadershipfreak)

10. Lose the battle. Win the war! (By @LYSNation)

Think. Work. Achieve.
Your turn...

  • Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
  • Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
  • Upcoming Presentations: American Association of School Administrators Conference; National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)